The present invention relates to a system and method for treating bladder conditions such as overactive bladder (OAB) and interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS).
OAB is a condition characterized by sudden, involuntary contractions of the muscle in the wall of the urinary bladder (detrusor muscle). Overactive bladder causes a sudden and unstoppable need to urinate (urinary urgency), even though the bladder may only contain a small amount of urine. OAB is distinct from stress urinary incontinence, but when they occur together is usually known as mixed incontinence.
The etiology of OAB is unclear, there may be multiple possible causes. Since OAB is often associated with detrusor overactivity, treatments are usually synonymous with treatments for detrusor overactivity.
Treatment for OAB includes lifestyle modification (fluid restriction, avoidance of caffeine), bladder retraining by scheduled urination, antimuscarinic drugs (darifenacin, hyoscyamine, oxybutynin, tolterodine, solifenacin, trospium), and various devices (Urgent PC Neuromodulation System, InterStim). Intravesical botulinum toxin A is also used in some intractable cases, although not with formal FDA approval.
Hydrodistention of the bladder is one of the oldest treatments for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and has recently been applied to overactive bladder cases with modest success. Hydrodistention is a procedure in which the bladder is stretched using water or a physiological fluid delivered into the bladder under pressure of up to 90-100 cm of water.
In OAB and IC/BPS cases, this procedure provides short-term relief from symptoms possibly by affecting unmyelinated C-fibers in the bladder and thereby producing local deafferentation (Dmochowski Rev Urol. 2002; 4 (Suppl 4): S19-S27).